Tata Steel’s Ferro Alloys & Manganese Division commissions Water Treatment Plant

Bhubaneswar: In line with its commitment towards environmental sustainability, the Manganese Group of Mines, Bichakundi of Tata Steel’s Ferro Alloys & Manganese Division (FAMD) has set up a 400 KLD (kilolitres per day) Water Treatment Plant at Bichakundi under Joda block of Keonjhar district, Odisha.

The facility was inaugurated on Monday by D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President (Raw Materials), Tata Steel in the presence of Pervez Akhtar, Chief Project Raw Materials, Mukesh Ranjan, Chief Project OMQ, Siddharth Shah, Chief Human Resource Business Process (Raw Materials) & Chief Diversity Officer, senior officials of the company and Union office bearers.

Talking about sustainable mining practices, D B Sundara Ramam said: “It is our yet another successful endeavour towards environmental sustainability. Reduce, reuse, recycle of water can help us meet the water requirement in and around our areas of operation. At Tata Steel, sustainable development and growth has always been an integral part of our business philosophy. All environmental and social considerations are taken into account for any project that is taken up by Tata Steel.”

Built from cutting-edge technology, the Water Treatment Plant will treat 400 KLD of water from Suna river and will address the drinking water need of around 2800 people residing in Bichakundi including the employees of the company and people from the community in and around Bichakundi.

The water treatment plant will produce potable water that meets all quality parameters set by World Health Organization (WHO). Raw water is taken to the treatment plant from the river through intake pumps and pipeline and is stored in the reservoir.

After chemical dosing of the raw water, the coagulation process activates post which, the first filtration is done through Pressure Sand Filter and Manganese Oxide Filter.

The water then goes through the second filtration process involving Ultrafiltration to achieve turbidity of less than 1 Nephelometric Turbidity Units which meets the quality parameter set for drinking water. The wastewater generated during the filtration process will be collected in a pit and will be used for gardening purposes.

With sustainability as a cornerstone of its operations, Tata Steel’s Ferro Alloys & Manganese Division has taken several initiatives in and around the region including Rainwater Harvesting Ponds, plantation through Miyawaki method and Seed Balls, Mango Orchards, Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting, and development of an Eco-Restoration Park comprising of a 130 KV Solar Power Plant and a Polyhouse nursery.

With more such new endeavours in the pipeline, FAMD is continuing its quest to remain industry leader in sustainability by setting new benchmarks for a better tomorrow.